About Guidelines
The role of the ESGAR Research Committee is to initiate, coordinate and oversee the production and progress of ESGAR guidelines through to their completion and publication. Guideline-specific working groups that comprise ESGAR members who are experts in the field will develop these ESGAR guidelines.
The ESGAR Research Committee envisages two principal types of guidelines as follows:
- Monodisciplinary guidelines will be developed under sole ESGAR stewardship and will normally concern technical performance and protocols relevant to abdominal imaging using high technology imaging platforms.
- Multidisciplinary guidelines will normally describe the role of abdominal imaging in specific clinical circumstances, including comparison of multiple imaging techniques where appropriate. These multidisciplinary guidelines will normally be developed in collaboration with one or more relevant clinical societies.
ESGAR Guideline Development Manual
The Research Committee has developed a document describing the development process of an ESGAR guideline. This document is to be used for monodisciplinary ESGAR guidelines and may be used in multidisciplinary guidelines (to be determined together with the other involved society/societies).
Downloads
Call for experts
ESGAR & ESUR guidelines on Spectral CT of the abdomen
The ESGAR Research Committee is currently looking for experts to participate in joint ESGAR & ESUR guidelines on Spectral CT of the abdomen.
Spectral CT has become a valuable tool in abdominal imaging, thanks to its ability to distinguish tissues and materials based on their energy-dependent attenuation properties. However, there is a lack of guidelines/consensus regarding the appropriate use of this technology.
The primary aim of these guidelines/ expert consensus panel recommendations will be to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art clinical applications of Spectral CT in the evaluation of abdominal diseases. This includes defining appropriate indications, comparing approaches across various CT platforms, establishing optimal imaging protocols, reviewing available Spectral CT analysis tools, and evaluating the overall level of evidence supporting its use in abdominal imaging.
Interested ESGAR members are invited to contact the ESGAR Office before July 15, 2025 and provide a summary of their previous work in this area, including publications and guideline development experience. The selection process will consider candidates' academic achievements, past involvement, as well as the group's diversity and geographical representation to ensure a well-rounded team.
ESGAR members who have previously been involved with the guidelines are welcome to re-apply. Up to 5 ESGAR experts can be included. In addition, ESGAR Junior members are welcome to apply.
Please send your expression of interest via this link
Guidelines in progress
ONGOING GUIDELINES
- ESGAR/ESUR Guidelines on CT in Acute Abdomen
- ESGAR/EANM Consensus Guidelines for Imaging Anal Cancer
- ESGAR Guidelines for the Diagnostic Cross-Sectional Imaging in Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- ESGAR guideline for training and quality assurance in CT colonography
- Update to guideline: MRI for clinical management of rectal cancer (new edition will be split in two parts: part 1 staging and part 2 restaging)
GUIDELINES IN COLLABORATION WITH OR SUPPORTED BY ESGAR
- Guideline on Initial Assessment and Management of pancreatic lesions for Primary Care Practitioners (ESPCG)
- Pain management in acute pancreatitis (EPC)
- 2025 evidence-based European multi-societal guideline for pancreatic cancer (E-AHPBA/ESSO)
- Global guidelines on cystic neoplasms of the pancreas
- Fatty pancreas consensus statements (EPC)
- International, multidisciplinary guideline update, EAES Rapid Recommendation Update 2025: TaTME for Rectal Cancer (EAE, SAGES and ESCP)
- Management and follow up of gallbladder polyps: updated joint guidelines (ESGAR, EAES, EFISDS and ESGE)
- UEG initiative to develop quality indicators for pancreatic cancer care (EPC)
Proposal of new topics for ESGAR Guidelines
The membership is invited to propose topics for guidelines. Please be sufficiently specific in the topic description, indicate whether you think this should be more a technical guideline or a clinical (multidisciplinary) guideline and also describe the reason(s) for proposing the topic(s).
If you have more than one topic proposal, please submit these as separate topics.
Please contact office(at)esgar.org to submit your proposal.
Published Guidelines
ESGAR consensus statement on the imaging of fistula-in-ano... (April 2020)
and other causes of anal sepsis...
The guidelines were published in European Radiology.
European Guideline on Achalasia (February 2020)
UEG and ESNM recommendations
The guideline was published in the UEG Journal.
Making useful clinical guidelines (February 2019)
The ESGAR perspective
This has been published in European Radiology.
ECCO-ESGAR Guideline for Diagnostic Assessment in IBD Part 2 (August 2018)
IBD scores and general principles and technical aspects
The guidelines were published in the Journal of Crohn's and…
ECCO-ESGAR Guideline for Diagnostic Assessment in IBD Part 1 (August 2018)
Initial diagnosis, monitoring of known IBD, detection of complications
The guidelines were published in the Journal of…
Correction to: Magnetic resonance imaging for clinical management of rectal cancer (January 2018)
Updated recommendations from the 2016 European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) consensus…
Magnetic resonance imaging for clinical management of rectal cancer (October 2017)
Updated recommendations from the 2016 European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) consensus…
Management and follow-up of gallbladder polyps (February 2017)
Joint guidelines between ESGAR, EAES, EFISDS and ESGE
The consensus statement was published in European Radiology.
The first joint ESGAR/ ESPR consensus statement on the technical performance of cross-sectional small bowel and colonic imaging (October 2016)
The consensus statement was published in European Radiology.
Magnetic resonance imaging of pelvic floor dysfunction (August 2016)
Joint recommendations of the ESUR and ESGAR Pelvic Floor Working Group
The guideline was published in European…